01/07/2026

Conditions are very likely to heighten disease pressure across most cropping areas this season. Early rain encouraged a lot of growers on both sides of the country to sow crops ahead of schedule and we have since had an unusually warm autumn.

Those conditions, which favour disease development, come at a time when some historic solutions are no longer providing effective protection.

Growing Disease and Resistance Challenges

 Last July the GRDC confirmed that net form net blotch (NFNB) with triple fungicide resistance – to DMIs, SDHIs and QoIs – had been identified on barley at South Stirling in WA. That triple resistance is also present in at least some parts of SA and Victoria.

The mapping and timeline on the Fungicide Resistance Portal (prim.ccdm.com.au) show how quickly reduced sensitivity to fungicides is spreading in other diseases and crops, such as Septoria tritici in wheat.

 Introducing Balaya^®

The general threat of high disease pressure and strains of various diseases with reduced sensitivity to older chemistry make the recent registration of Balaya^®, a new Group 3 and Group 11 fungicide from BASF, particularly timely.

“Given the way this season is shaping up, this is the perfect time to be releasing a new fungicide that can work where others have fallen off,” says BASF Broadacre Agronomy & Innovation Specialist Tariq Gerardi. “There are a lot of ageing DMIs on the market, so a new product that is less susceptible to resistance shifts was always going to attract interest. There’s been quite a bit of anticipation about using it and lots of development work done by industry groups.”

Balaya is the second foliar fungicide co-formulation BASF has launched that includes Revysol^® (mefentrifluconazole) as its Group 3 active. Whereas Revystar^® also contains Group 7 Xemium^® (fluxapyroxad), Balaya pairs Revysol with the highly effective Group 11 active F500^® (pyraclostrobin).

Revysol is not just another DMI. It is the first, and so far only, isopropanol-azole. Its uniquely adaptable molecule can fold into a hook shape and adapt to the binding pocket of the fungal enzyme, even if a mutation has distorted that pocket. Revysol is also very quick to enter the plant upon application, with no adjuvants required and touch-dry rainfastness.

Much stronger binding to the target site keeps Revysol working on fungal strains with reduced sensitivity to older DMIs.

“The combination of its innovative DMI and outstanding QoI active makes Balaya a great rotation option for in-crop blackleg protection,” Tariq says. “GRDC research has shown that our Group 7 fungicides are still working in most areas, but low levels of resistance have been detected, and resistance to older DMIs is advancing. So, for good stewardship of the SDHI seed treatments, Balaya is a great rotation option.”

Tariq acknowledges that resistance management is an important consideration but may not be top of mind in mid-season. “A lot of canola is going to be flowering in July this year and these are prime conditions for both Sclerotinia and upper canopy blackleg. Growers are going to be looking for a high-quality fungicide that’s effective on those diseases and has a long residual. Balaya’s perfect for that.”

BASF research has shown that Revysol provides up to 6 or 7 weeks of residual protection, compared to up to 5 or 6 weeks for other Group 3 fungicides on susceptible pathogens and only 2 to 3 weeks when the disease strains’ sensitivity to fungicides has shifted.

A New Tool for Resistance Management

Tariq says barley growers should be looking at Balaya for NFNB control as part of a balanced program. “The first steps are to plant less susceptible varieties and avoid planting barley on barley, but the AFREN guidelines also recommend mixing and rotating fungicide groups and spraying at strategic timings.

“The triple-resistance threat is the product of complex mutations and has limited the fungicide options growers have to choose from. Revysol has a high level of activity on NFNB and is not yet subject to any shifts in sensitivity. Among the QoIs, research has shown that F500 is more effective on both wild type and mutated net blotch strains than azoxystrobin. So the combination of a unique DMI and a more efficacious QoI make Balaya more likely to provide high levels of NFNB control and delay the onset of triple resistance in areas that it hasn’t reached.”

Once growers add Balaya to the program for whichever disease is the biggest threat in their most important crop, Tariq thinks they will quickly realise they can use it in every phase of the crop rotation. “It’s sort of a ‘one drum fits all’ situation,” he says. “Balaya’s registered to prevent or control key diseases in virtually every crop we grow, with very handy application timings. It offers industry-leading Septoria tritici control in wheat, excellent efficacy against a wide range of diseases in pulse crops, and that capacity to control blackleg both early and late.”

Balaya can be used up to BBCH75 (medium milk) in wheat, barley and oats; BBCH65 (full flowering) in canola and BBCH79 (end of podding) in pulses.

BASF's Serviceton Community Paddock barley crop

Benegits Beyond Disease Control

Effective disease control is of course the top priority in selecting fungicides, but Tariq says there is an additional reason to choose Balaya over alternative products with the same modes of action. “In a lot of the work we see – probably 90% of the trials where resistance isn’t an issue – Balaya and the premium, well-established fungicide in the market produce very similar levels of control. Sometimes Balaya does a little better and sometimes the competitor is a bit ahead when we measure disease control alone. Yet, regardless of those comparative levels of control, the yields from the Balaya-treated crops are consistently higher. There seems to be a trend that produces extra yield, so there’s definite evidence that Balaya has positive plant health benefits.”

That conclusion ties in with the long-standing observation that F500 enhances greening, improves stress tolerance and enables the crop to take up nitrogen more efficiently. Still, Tariq says, it's not entirely clear how the benefit works. “Everyone in the industry knows that these things are hard to pin down. Balaya could be controlling underlying diseases we’re not testing for, or it could be the more direct effect of inhibiting both the increased ethylene production and chlorophyll degradation that are associated with plant stress.”         

One thing Tariq says is clear is Balaya’s improvement of oat crops. “Balaya controls red leather leaf, leaf rust and Septoria avenae in oats, and at the same time has a ‘stay-green’ effect. It maintains more green leaf area for longer so growers can delay cutting for hay and get higher quality feed.”

Given all the potential benefits of adding Balaya to the rotation, Tariq suggests that growers should not wait: “In most growing areas, this is looking like the perfect season to introduce a new fungicide to the program. All the trial work done by BASF and industry groups suggest that Balaya can help promote better crop health, boost yields and strengthen resistance management by expanding the overall chemical rotation.”

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